


Navidad with Dani

by Imawriterowhateva



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Bilingual, Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Homies, malcolm doesn’t understand Spanish, malcolm needs a hug, mexican christmas party, napping together, spanglish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imawriterowhateva/pseuds/Imawriterowhateva
Summary: Dani invites Malcolm over to her family’s Christmas Eve celebration.
Relationships: Dani Powell & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	Navidad with Dani

**Author's Note:**

> Translation’s are provided at the end chapter notes!

Malcolm let out a small sigh sitting at his desk, it was Christmas Eve and he was already dreading Christmas Day dinner at his mother’s house. He could already hear her pestering him about his dating life and her listing off countless of women she has in line to date him. She never seemed to bug Ainsley about her dating life or her future plans to marry and his mother always seemed to say it was because she was younger and had more time and that he had to carry down the family name, which didn’t make much sense to him since he’d be passing down his own name and not the Whitley name.

Malcolm’s loud sigh along with a thump on his desk brought Dani’s attention to him.

“You good bright?” She asked

“Just peachy” he groaned. 

“You sure?” She asked again

“I’m just dreading an obligatory Christmas Day dinner tomorrow at my mother's house is all” Malcolm said sitting up and she gave him a confused look. 

“Oh that’s right, you’re white” she said 

“Thanks for noticing I was hoping someone would” Malcolm said letting out a laugh

“I meant- sorry. It’s just I forget white people celebrate on the 25th not on the 24th like most of the people I know” she explained, “and you’re not a Christmas guy?” 

“It’s not that, I just don’t want to sit at a dinner while my mother tells me I should get married soon” Malcolm said

“My mom used to be like that, if not a bit less intense than your mom. She was rather enthusiastic about my future plans for marriage but I had to sit her down and tell her that although I appreciated her enthusiasm, I was not currently looking for a rather serious relationship” Dani said 

“You think you can talk to my mother?” He asked

“No offense but I would rather face off another killer than face off with your mom” she said and Malcolm laughed.

“Yeah she can be very intense,” he said and they continued to work in a comfortable silence.  
_________  
“Alright, good work team, now get out of here” Gil’s voice rang out after a few hours of work and they began to pack up.

“You going to Tally’s family to celebrate tonight?” Dani asked him 

“Yeah, vamos a Union City down in Jersey, allá se movieron. Y tu?” JT answered putting his coat on. (1)

“Just with my family, you know. Vienen de Chicago y se van a quedar la noche” she said and JT just nodded.

“What about you bright? Any plans tonight?” JT asked

“Not tonight, tomorrow I will have an awkward and uncomfortable dinner with my mother and sister which I’m thoroughly looking forward to” Malcolm smiled at him and JT gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Good luck man” he said patting his shoulder, “Bye, Dani” he waved. As she packed up the last of her belongings she watched Malcolm continue to work.

“You going to stay Bright?” She asked

“Uh- just a bit longer. I have no plans for later anyway” he shrugged and Dani nodded giving him a small ‘okay.’ She put her jacket on and began to contemplate asking Bright to come over to celebrate with her family. There would be as many cons as pros, so she just stood there with a concerned look on her face. Malcolm looked at her, unmoving as she had her internal struggle.

“You okay?” Malcolm asked after a minute of silence.

“You want to come with me? To my home, I mean, to celebrate” she asked surprising him.

“Uh- are you sure? I don’t want to intrude with your family celebration” Malcolm said 

“If you don’t mind being fed most of the night and almost everyone talking in Spanish” Dani said and Malcolm laughed, “I can help translate when they do” she smiled

“Okay, sure. I’ll be happy to go with you” Malcolm said  
—————  
They sat in a comfortable silence as they drove to Dani’s apartment. Dani rarely had the opportunity to be alone with guy other than working on cases or stakeouts and the occasional drive home. However they were much friendlier to each other. If Malcolm brought her tea in the morning she would buy him something for lunch. She had seen him in various stages of his mental health and today didn’t seem to be a good day, and maybe it’s because it’s the holidays or maybe because she wanted to be better friends that she decided to invite him over.

“You know I took four years of Spanish in high school” Malcolm chimed in and she smiled

“Does that mean you knew every time JT and I talk shit in Spanish?” She asked

“I never said I actually learned anything,” Malcolm laughed, “I would very much appreciate your expertise in the language to make me not look like a total idiot tonight.” He said and Dani nodded.

“Don’t worry, almost everyone speaks English or at least enough to communicate. My mom and tias are the ones that don’t speak it much but I’ll be with you throughout the night so you don’t have to worry” Dani explained.

“Okay, cool. Thanks,” Malcolm said, “and Tia’s are?” He asked

“Aunts” she replied 

“I think my mother needs to get her money back from the private school I went to, since apparently I remember absolutely nothing” and they both laughed.  
_______________

Malcolm was getting more anxious as they got closer to their destination. It would be the first time Malcolm had ever been to Dani’s place, and he really didn’t want to screw it up. He didn’t have many friends, especially now as an adult, and he really didn’t want to ruin any sort of relationship he had with Dani over something he would notice or something he would say. 

“Hey” he heard her say and looked over to him.

“It’ll be fine, don't worry. Besides, we’re here. So no point worrying about it now” Dani said as she parked the car in front of her place.

“Okay, yeah. It’ll be fine.” He said, mostly to himself and he followed her lead and as soon as she opened the door a small mob of kids came running to them all of them yelling “Tia”

“Hey guys, como están?” Dani bent down and hugged the kids with all of them answering in different ways. (3)

“Who’s that?” One the kids said pointing at Malcolm 

“Si Tia, quien es?” Another asked while the other kids were agreeing with them.

“Okay chicos, this is my friend Malcolm, se portan bien con el, es mi amigo. He’s going to be celebrating Christmas with us tonight, ahora saludanse” Dani said and the kids were both waving at him and hugging his legs with variations of “hello” and “hola” and Malcolm greeted the kids back. (4)

“Malcolm these are my nieces and nephews”

“Hello everyone” Malcolm waved to the kids.

“This is Juan, Joshua, Guadalupe” she patted the kids on their heads as she named them off, “Santiago, Pablo, Xitlali, Samantha, and Michelle” Malcolm just looking at the kids making sure to memorize each name to the face in front of him.

“Don’t worry about memorizing their names, I’ll remind you if you forget” she gave him a small wink and Malcolm nodded saying a small thanks.

“Dani! Ya llegastes por fin! Nos puedes ayudar con la comida” someone else came up to them holding a baby in her arms (5)

“Si, si, but first this is my friend Malcolm he’ll be with us tonight, Malcolm this is my cousin Alondra and her baby Lorena” Dani introduced them

“Nice to meet you, Alondra” Malcom extended his arm and instead got a baby in his arms.

“Nice to meet you too baby blues, I hope you can hold a baby because we need all hands on deck on the kitchen” she said as Malcolm struggled finding a comfortable position to hold the baby. He looked at the baby with wide eyes as the mother went back to the kitchen.

“She just handed me a baby Dani, why would she hand me a baby? I can’t be trusted with a baby!” Malcolm said starting to freak out. He had never carried a baby, not really and with his track record of violent night terrors he really shouldn’t be trusted with one, especially not one that looked just a few weeks old.

“Here, support her head like this” Dani said guiding his arms, “and she handed you the baby because you were here and needs to help in the kitchen and she can’t do that with a baby, that simple” she explained, “relax you won’t need to take care of her, its her nap time anyway. Come on” and he followed her down the hall. He looked around her apartment, it was rather cozy with pictures of her family around and what surprised him the most was the few Christian imagery, he would have never thought of Dani as particularly religious. He shook his head at the thought, he shouldn’t be analyzing Dani, she is a friend not some perp that needed a profile.

“In here” and they entered her room that already had a few people in it.

“Hey Dani” said the man as he got up to hug her and kiss her cheek

“Que onda” said the other doing the same.

“Hey guys, this is Malcolm. He’s my friend, we just wanted to put the baby in bed, la cuidan” Dani explained.

“Malcolm these are my cousins, Jesus and Oscar” she introduced them.

“Nice to meet you, I’d shake your hand but I sort of have a baby in my arms and I’m too scared to carry her with one hand” he said with a sheepish smile and they laughed.

“Don’t trip man, we’ve been taking care of kids since the dawn of time. Including Dani” Oscar said taking the baby from his arms and shaking Malcolm’s hand.

“Really?” Malcolm smirked giving Dani a curious look.

“Oh the stories I could tell you” Jesus laughed and Dani shoved him playfully.

“Shut up” she said, “I got plenty of stories too, no empiecen” she warned 

“Come on, Malcolm. Let’s go to the kitchen” she opened the door for him.  
_____________  
“I forgot to tell you, but you’re going to be put to work today. Hope you don't mind” Dani says as they get out of the room and Malcolm laughed.

“Oh I don’t mind, as long as you tell me how to do it, I’ll do whatever you guys want me to”

“Why Malcolm do you use that line with all the ladies” she joked and he laughed, it felt so good to laugh like that. He had been so tense about the obligatory christmas dinner and about the fact that the Surgeon was in solitary confinement when he was needed the most that he couldn’t really think of anything else, so this was something he really appreciated. Malcolm smiled at Dani, he didn’t really have this sort of relationship with anyone else and at this moment he really appreciated her.

“There’s going to be lots more introductions throughout the night by the way, more family will stop by later, but right now you’ll be meeting my mom and her sister my tia Esperanza” Dani told him and she noticed her body language shift just a bit, she was nervous. Great at hiding it, but she was very nervous about it.

“My mom will love you, I’m sure. But it’s not like I’ve exactly brought many friends over to meet her” she said giving him a tight smile and she walked into the kitchen.

“Ya llegastes Danika!” the short stout woman with beautiful big curly hair gave a kiss to Dani and he could see the resemblance bright as day between mother and daughter.

“Hola mami,” Dani gave her a kiss on her cheek, “Hola Tia Anza” she greeted the other taller woman in the room.

“Estes mi amigo Malcolm, nos va ayudar con la comida” Dani said (6)

“Hola Doña Powell...encantada” Malcolm managed to say and the women in the kitchen laughed 

“It’s with an ‘o’ Bright” Dani said in between giggles and his shoulders slumped.

“Esta bien, intento y es lo que importa. Aver ven, dame un abrazo” (7) Dani’s mother said with open arms and although Malcolm didn’t know much of what she was saying he understood what she wanted. Malcolm returned the hug and was surprised by the warmth of the hug, she held onto him tight and with a smile on her face. 

“Que flaco estás! No te preocupes mijo, hoy si comes bien!” She laughed and although Malcolm had no idea what she was saying he was fine with it and nodded (8)

“Alright, ma what do you need help with” Dani asked. 

They helped her mom with all the cooking the entire afternoon. Dani has discovered that Malcolm, although a proper genius, had no idea how to cook. If she didn’t help him hold or chop things properly her mother was there to guide him. Dani spent the afternoon translating her stories that she would tell and Malcolm quietly promised himself to take spanish lessons. 

Once they were finally done with the cooking they were exhausted. More family had arrived and Malcolm was pretty sure he was mixing up names at this point. He cherish his small family, but having a big family like this is something we wished he had. Cousins to be friends with, aunts and uncles to depend upon like Dani. 

“Let’s rest in bedroom. There’s so much going on here” Dani said as they finished washing the dishes. 

“Ama, nos dices cuando están los tamales” and her mom nodded as they walked into her, surprisingly empty room. Dani plopped down on her bed and Malcolm sat carefully next to her. (9)

“Come one Malcolm, lie down. I know you’re tired. We just stood for a couple hours just making the tamales and champurrado” Dani said patting the empty spot next to her and so he did. He sucked in a breath and tried to relax. Dani’s bed was comfortable, it was warm with her next to him and he didn’t hate it. Normally he would be careful with anyone next to him, but it wasn’t like Dani was a stranger who didn’t know just how screwed up his mind was so he let himself relax a little.

“So, did you see anything surprising in my home?” She asked after a few minutes of silence.

“I- I don’t think so” Malcolm said, “why do you ask?” And she turned her head to look at him.

“You’re a profiler, and I know that you can’t switch that bring brain of yours off” she shrugged, “just wanted to know if you saw anything by being here”

“Well, the only thing I can think of is a few of the religious memorabilia you have around. I- I mean I’ve worked alongside you for a couple of months now and it was just surprising is all” he said and he looked at her to make sure he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries and she just let out a laugh.

“Yeah it surprised me too” she said and he gave her a suspicious look.

“That was my mom. I’m not particularly religious, but my mom doesn’t seem to agree so every time she comes she brings another christo or cross or something and she puts it up and since it's christmas time she decked my apartment out” she explained, “the last time she was here she put a full on poster in my bathroom and I didn’t know that so when I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night I screamed so loud that I woke my neighbors” 

They both laughed.  
_____________  
They had been exchanging stories for a while before Dani could see just how tired Malcolm really was. She kept talking as he slowly began to fall asleep, she made sure to keep her voice calm and even. Dani understood just how much he needed to sleep, it was the one thing Gil had always complained about; just how much Malcolm didn’t sleep. Looking at his sleeping face, you'd think that he was just a normal with normal problems.

Dani got up slowly making sure she didn’t wake him and grabbed the blanket and covered them both as she drifted to sleep with Malcolm’s breathing next to her. And that’s how they stayed for a while.  
_____________  
Out of anything to wake Dani up from their nap she would have put her money on the loud music, or her tipsy cousins singing along to Juan Grabriel, or even a crying baby but she didn’t expect to be woken up by a cake being smashed on her face. 

“Ya despiértate mensa!” She shot up from bed wiping the icing from her eyes and tangled in the blanket she crashed on the ground

“Pinche animal! Ricky!” She got out of the blanket but her cousin ran out of the room and slammed the door to her room. She was already thinking of ways to get him back. She quickly turned around remembering that Malcolm was in the room.

“Bright, you good? Sorry my dumbass cousin decided to wake me up with cake to the face” she was wiping the rest off of her face, she looked at Malcolm who although looked spooked had a smile on his face before he started laughing.

“Is that how you normally get woken up by your cousins”

“No” she laughed, “I guess I had it coming though, last time at their house I woke him up with water and flour to the face, so I was let off easy” she kept wiping the remains of the food on her face.

“How long were we asleep?” Malcolm asked as he stretched

“Um I think close to three hours” Dani responded from her bathroom. Now washing her face.

“That’s the most sleep I’ve gotten this week” Malcolm smiled 

“Sorry Ricky woke you up” she apologized

“No- don't worry about it. Besides, it was a good think he woke us up, I think my dreams were heading to a bad place pretty soon”

There was a knock on the door, “Niños! Ya están los tamales” it was Dani’s mom who entered and Malcolm just nodded. (11)

“Y tu? Que te paso?” Her mom asked Dani who was now looking for another shirt in her closet. (12)

“Pues que crees, fue Ricky. He woke us both up con sus pendejadas” Dani said(13)

“Ves, por jugar asi. Luego no se van aguantar” her mother warned, “aver mijo vente, te sirvo un tamal mientras que se cambie Dani” she said to Malcolm who looked to Dani for help. (14)

“She wants you to go eat while I change, the tamales are done” she told him and he got up to follow her mom. She sat him at one of the empty chairs at the table and asked what type of tamal he would enjoy and Malcolm was unsure how to answer.

“Try the green ones, they’re not too spicy and they’re made of chicken” one of Dani’s cousins suggested and he nodded

“Una...verde, por favor” he stumbled on his words and the older woman nodded.

“You know I’m surprised just how bad your Spanish is, considering you grew up with Gil as you not dad” Dani commented as she took the seat next to him.

“Yeah, but Gil never really spoke Spanish to me. I mean Jackie tried, like I mean she tried but it never really stuck. But I knew a few things, like colors. I just asked your mom for the green tamales” Malcolm said with a hint of pride in his voice and Dani just smiled and soon they had tamales in front of them.  
_____________  
Malcolm didn’t expect that going to Dani’s place to celebrate Christmas Eve would end up with them leaving at nearly four in the morning. He had never seen Dani be in such a relaxed state before, she was comfortable even with him there. He had to admit that although at first he did feel out of place, once they started cooking he felt a lot better. 

Her family made him feel welcome, all of the kids were excited to have another person to play with, her cousins shared a drink with and shared stories from Dani’s childhood and her mother made sure he was fed and made him eat throughout the night.

“Gracias, por um- por invitarme y um- y la comida” Malcolm said struggling to find the right words (15)

“Ay mijo, siempre estás bienvenido. Te doy las gracias por cuidar mi niña cuando están trabajando.” Her mom said giving him a big hug, he didn’t really understand what she was saying but he could feel the weight of her words, “Y llámame Mamá Vero okay, mi corazón” she gave his cheek and pinch and blessed him before letting him go.

“You ready Malcolm?” Dani asked putting on her scarf and heading over to her mom to give her a kiss on the cheek and blessing her as well.

“Careful. Okay.” her mom said to both of them.  
_____________  
Dani drove Malcolm to his mother's house, he had said that if he was going to be there in a couple of hours he might as well be there extra early; if not only to scare his mother in the morning.

“Did you have fun?” She asked him after sitting there for a few minutes.

“I really did, thank you very much for inviting me. Everyone was very welcoming” he said and she smiled

“Sorry, I’m delaying I should go in” Malcolm said undoing his seatbelt.

To his surprise he gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Malcolm” Dani said with flushed cheeks.

“Merry Christmas Dani” he replied with a shy smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation:  
> “Yea, we’re going to Union City down in Jersey, that’s where they moved to”  
> “Just with my family, you know. They’re coming from Chicago and they’re going to stay the night”  
> “Hey guys, how are you?”  
> “Okay guys, this is my friend Malcom, you guys better behave, he's my friend. He’s going to be celebrating Christmas with us tonight, now go greet him”  
> “Dani! You finally got here! You can help us with the food”  
> “This is my friend Malcolm, he's going to help us with the food”  
> “It’s fine, he tried it that’s what matters. Come, give me a hug”  
> You’re so skinny! Don’t worry, today you’ll eat a lot”  
> “Mom, let us know when the tamales are done”  
> “That’s good, it looks like needs to sleep a shit ton”  
> “Kiddos, the Tamales are done!”  
> “And you? What happened to you?”  
> “What do you think, it was Ricky. He woke us up with his bullshit”  
> “That’s what you get for playing like that, then you won't be able to handle it later on…come on son, I’ll serve you a tamal while Dani changes”  
> “Thank you for um- for inviting me and um- and the food”  
> “Aw kiddo, you’re always welcome. And I should be thanking you for keeping my little girl safe at work...and call me mama vero okay, sweetheart”


End file.
